For those who'd rather ponder, investigate, research, make a point, construct an argument, and then get angry...

Monday, September 08, 2008

Time to go...

"I’m embarrassed, and I’m ashamed —- not that we lost to the University of New Hampshire [28-10], because they are a good football team, but by the way we did it. … I apologize to the United States Military, Corps of Cadets, anybody really who watched that game.”

- Army Football Coach Stan Brock after losing to Div IAA New Hampshire 9/6/08 -

Well, you ought to be you bastard…

There are no excuses anybody can make at this point for the sorry state of West Point's football program. The Superintendent, The Long Gray Line past, present, future, the community and fans all over the country should demand accountability. I've seen both of Army's games this season courtesy of ESPN Classic and for the second weekend in a row watching the debacle on the field has spoiled my mood through Monday. When will the academy learn that NOT conducting a national search for a head coach means virtual instant failure? Why, when finally deciding to adopt an option offense, the ONLY offense that has EVER made Army a contender, an offense that countless other schools including arch rival Navy has leveraged to put them in a four year run of bowl games, did Athletic Director Kevin Anderson keep Stan Brock. Stan Brock, a guy who came in as Bobby Ross’s (who gallantly tried to run a spread offense for two years before re-retiring) offensive coordinator and was handed the job with no consideration given to anybody else.

So here’s where we are… Army brought in arguable the best college football coach to rebuild the organization from the ruins of Todd Berry’s four year reign in which Army lost more games in one season than any other Div IA team has ever lost (0-13) and install a West Coast offense. While successfully generating renewed spirit in the program overall, Ross figures out that he’s too old, and West Point’s five year post graduation military commitment during a time of war too onerous to recruit a caliber of player to run an offense throwing the ball. Ross leaves exhausted. AD Anderson HANDS the job to former Ross OC Stan Brock. Army fans hope for a return to the option. Doesn’t happen. Army gets crushed by Navy last season for the billionth time in a row and wins 3 games all season. Brock scratches his ass and is heard to utter, “The option huh? Think they got any books in the library on how to do that?” This is the time in which AD Anderson should have been saying to himself, “I need to conduct a national search for an up and coming head coach experienced in running the option. Get a selection committee together stat...”. Instead, for two weeks he’s had Stan Brock out there on the sidelines flipping through a copy of ‘Wishbone for Dummies’ looking for all his highlighted sections while Div IA & IAA cupcakes, scheduled to give Army a chance at going 2-0 into the meatier parts of their schedule, run up and down the field spraying touchdowns like machine gun fire at Army. It’s tough to watch folks.

Local sports beats in the Hudson Valley are now questioning whether Army should be running an option offense. Morons all of them. What Stan Brock has the cadets running is NOT an option offense in any sense that most understand it. All one needs to do is watch Georgia Tech game film to see how it's supposed to be done, perhaps with less passing than GT has employed to date.

For all they get right up there at West Point, it absolutely befuddles me as to how they can’t seem to get the wheels back on the football program's train. I know football is not the academy's primary mission, I get that. So do the administrations in Annapolis and Colorado Springs, yet these service academies seem to field competitive teams year after year. There is simply NO excuse and the corps of cadets DESERVE BETTER.

So, as respectfully as can possibly convey to Superintendent Lt. Gen. Franklin L. Hagenbeck: Take a clue from Gen. Petraeus and do what needs to be done here. Fire Stan Brock immediately (Anderson too if he’s not on board), conduct a national search for replacement who has experience running an option offense at the college level and start recruiting soldier/players for this system. Enough of the excuses, the pathetic apologies, and chaos on the field.

Army football fans are not looking for a BSC bowl or a run at the national championship, but we absolutely expect to win games they are supposed to, and have a program worthy of the esteemed institution it represents.

4 Comments:

For years, Army got shelled by the likes of ND, Penn St, Nebraska for gods sake. I saw them all, never missed a home game and victories were rare.

Our peanut gallery was filled with surly brats looking to fight, our weapon of choice was the high velocity paper wad. Many an Army mule, carrying an oppo cheerleader and a mule rider was shot in the ass, with the predictable results, mules are faster than one might think.

Once it became apparent that Army was going to lose another game (usually NLT the 2nd quarter) the peanut gallery turned on itself, in a heinous display of adolescent ferocity not found in many places in middle class 1970's America.

If you wanted to watch a bunch of winners back then, you'd catch the Eric Tipton led lightweight team play down by the river at Shea Stadium, those guys kicked ass.

Alva, Maybe Army should think about the A-11 offense, seriously. Check it out: http://www.a11offense.com/. Might not be kosher in CFB, though. I don't see how Army could ever compete in D1 these days. When the Boise States and Ap States of this nation are getting players to upset the big teams, what's left for schools like Army? They could start scheduling games with Duke?

Brock needs to leave ASAP. Recruiting won't suffer with him gone; Army has been recruiting players for an option offense, and a future coach would almost certainly need to run the option to remain competitive. Why can't they go to a straight-up wishbone and bring in a coach who knows how to run it? Army has been an embarrassment for too many years now. Another big loss to Navy this year should be enough for Anderson to make the call and bring in a real D-1 coach. . . .